Investigations on Arthropods Associated with Decay Stages of Buried Animals in Italy (original) (raw)
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Suan Sunandha Science and Technology Journal, 2023
Knowledge of successional colonization of cadaver is important in medico-legal studies especially with regards to postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. Paucity of data especially as it relates to juveniles has limited the appropriate application of this knowledge for the benefit of man. To bridge this knowledge gap, juvenile human cadaver was modeled using 2 slaughtered juvenile pigs-Sus scrofa Linn. (≈ 10 kg mean weight) at the study site. One pig was exposed to sunlight while the other shaded under a tree. Both pigs were protected from scavengers and allowed through the decay stages and sampling for adult arthropods continued till the dry-remain stage of decomposition. Data collected were used to compute frequency of occurrence and relative abundance. Paleontological Statistical Tool (Past3) was used to compute diversity indices. Of the 2032 arthropods of 20 species, across 17 families retrieved, the exposed carcass attracted 44.1% comprising 16 species within 15 families while the shaded carcass attracted 14 species within 12 families. Over 50% species similarity on the contrasting carcasses was observed. Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Dermestidae, Histeridae and Formicidae made-up the dominant families sampled. While Musca domestica L. (Muscidae) and Anochetus sp. (Formicidae) were exclusively dominant for the shaded carcass, Crematogaster sp. (Formicidae) was exclusively dominant for the exposed carcass. Both carcasses completed decomposition in 14 days but exhibited a shorter advanced-decay stage for the shaded carcass and shorter dry remain stage for the exposed carcass. We thus conclude that, there was little distinction in the diversity and succession pattern of the arthropods colonizing both carcasses (shaded and exposed).
Turkish Journal of Parasitology, 2018
Objective: Carrion insects inhabiting the soil play an important role in forensic investigations because they may help to solve both active and cold cases. The aim of this study was to examine the entomofauna of forensic importance in soil samples removed after 13 years from a pig carrion decomposition site. Methods: Soil samples were collected from an old carrion decomposition study site in Bâla, the Ankara Province. Four holes, approximately 40 cm deep and 35 cm width were excavated at the study site. The samples were collected and placed in ventilated cups. Each cup was labeled mentioning the excavation location, time, date, and name of the collector. Insects and their remains found in the soil were collected by sweeping the soil from the specimens using a brush. The insects were morphologically identified. Results: A total of 635 specimens of Calliphoridae, Dermestidae, Cleridae, Staphylinidae, Histeridae, and Formicidae were identified. Flies such as Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedmann, 1819), and beetles such as Dermestes frischii (Kugelan, 1792), Necrobia rufipes (De Geer, 1775), and Creophilus maxillosus (Linnaeus, 1758), were identified as the species. Conclusion: Our results show that soil samples still harbor entomological specimens after 13 years. This study, to the best of our knowledge, was the first of its kind in Turkey. Forensically, important insects and their remains may be identified in the soil long time after the corpse is buried. Consequently, cold cases may be solved using insects.
Succession of Arthropods on White Rat Carcasses in Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, 2020
The forensic information provided by decomposition of small carcasses often goes unnoticed, even in advanced economies, due to frequent neglect. This paper reports the succession pattern of arthropod species that associated with carcasses of white rat, Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) (Rodentia: Muridae), in Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. Four bushy sites were chosen for the study and nine rat carcasses were placed at each site once a season for two seasons. The carcasses were monitored daily until the process of decay was over. The visiting and colonizing invertebrates were collected daily and identified. Immatures were also collected and reared in the laboratory till adult emergence for easy identification. The carcasses went through five stages of decay and the arthropods arrived in the order Diptera (early fresh stage), Hymenoptera (late fresh stage), Coleoptera and Dermaptera (active decay stage), and Araneae and Oribatida (advanced decay stage). Dipteran flies were the first arthropods to interact with the remains but ants were the only arthropods that associated with all the five stages of decay. A total of 9828 arthropods (4415 adults and 5413 immatures) belonging to six orders in two classes of the phylum were collected in the study. The proportion of faunal abundance was Diptera (75.10%), Hymenoptera (22.90%), Coleoptera (1.80%), Dermaptera (0.10%), Oribatida (0.08%) and Araneae (0.02%). Rate of decay was faster and faunal population was higher on carcasses during the dry season compared to the wet. Faunal population was also higher on carcasses placed in close proximity to the Zoological garden. The implications of these results on accuracy of estimated postmortem interval (PMI) and applicability in law were discussed.
Entomologia, 2014
This study presents a checklist of Dipterans and Coleopterans accountable for carrion decay in the Po Valley (Italy), a contribution to the Forensic Entomology knowledge in Italy. Insects colonizing two pig carcasses in an agricultural area in Mezzani municipality (Parma, Northern Italy) were sampled by pitfall traps and original Malaise-like traps, which allowed the sampling of a very relevant number of flying insects. A checklist of 57 taxa was obtained, of which 26 were considered of forensic importance. For the latter the arrival time of adult specimens on the carcasses was recorded, as an important parameter in minimum post mortem interval estimation. Dipterans (6141 specimens) were the most common insects; the fastest specimens to detect and colonize the carcass belonged to the Calliphoridae family, while Fanniidae and Muscidae infested the carrion until completion of the skeletal stage. Coleopterans appeared later (308 adult specimens and 114 larvae were captured). Staphylinidae, Dermestidae, and Histeridae were the most common coleopterans sampled in this study.
Forensic Science International, 2012
Four experiments, one in each season, were carried out during 2004 in a rural area of Có rdoba, central Argentina. Two pigs (Sus scrofa L.), weighing approximately 8 kg each, were used in each of the four experiments. The animals were killed by a sharp blow to the head and immediately placed in an appropriate arthropod trap. One pig was placed in the shade and the other under direct sunlight. This research was conducted to determine the seasonal structure and dynamics of arthropods that constitute the sarcosaprophagous community in a given area of the central region of Argentina. The decomposition process was divided into five stages: fresh, bloated, decay, advanced decay and dry. The duration of each stage varied in different seasons, showing that the temperature and humidity are the most important variables that influence this process. A total of 51,500 adults and 36,909 immature were collected. More than 80% of the specimens collected belong to Insecta, and within this, Diptera were the most abundant order. The flies were mainly represented by adults and immature of the following species: Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Calliphoridae), Musca domestica Linnaeus (Muscidae) and Fannia femoralis (Stein) (Fanniidae). Coleoptera were mainly represented by adults and immature of the species Creophilus maxillosus (Linnaeus) (Staphylinidae) and Dermestes maculatus (Geer) (Dermestidae). More than 50% of hymenopteran fauna collected belong to Formicidae. The trophic levels associated with the decomposition of the remains included five categories: necrophagous, parasites and predators of the necrophagous species, omnivores, opportunists and adventives. During faunal succession a strong dominance of the necrophagous species of the family Calliphoridae and Muscidae was observed, mainly during the early stages of decay process in all seasons.
Searching the Soil: Forensic Importance of Edaphic Fauna After the Removal of a Corpse
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2010
Arthropods at different stages of development collected from human remains in an advanced stage of decomposition (following autopsy) and from the soil at the scene are reported. The corpse was found in a mixed deciduous forest of Biscay (northern Spain). Soil fauna was extracted by sieving the soil where the corpse lay and placing the remains in Berlese-Tullgren funnels. Necrophagous fauna on the human remains was dominated by the fly Piophilidae: Stearibia nigriceps (Meigen, 1826), mites Ascidae: Proctolaelaps epuraeae (Hirschmann, 1963), Laelapidae: Hypoaspis (Gaeolaelaps) aculeifer (Canestrini, 1884), and the beetle Cleridae: Necrobia rufipes (de Geer, 1775). We confirm the importance of edaphic fauna, especially if the deceased is discovered in natural environs. Related fauna may remain for days after corpse removal and reveal information related to the circumstances of death. The species Nitidulidae: Omosita depressa (Linnaeus, 1758), Acaridae: Sancassania berlesei (Michael, 1903), Ascidae: Zerconopsis remiger (Kramer, 1876) and P. epuraeae, Urodinychidae: Uroobovella pulchella (Berlese, 1904), and Macrochelidae: Glyptholaspis americana (Berlese, 1888) were recorded for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE ARTHROPOD SUCCESSION ON A DEAD ANIMAL
At affect the arthropods succession over a dead animal. Ecologically a decomposing dead body is a microhabitat for a number of organisms like bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. Arthropods, especially insects, are the dominating creatures of this microhabitat. The analysis of this sequence of insect visitation on the different stages of decomposition of carrion can be used in determination of postmortem interval (PMI) in criminal cases involving death or murder. During the faunal succession a number of insects of different groups colonize the carcass, but those groups of insects which have predictable sequence of colonization are forensically more significant. The succession of carrion entomofauna is not a simple process occurring in nature but a number of factors such as season, habitats, geographic location of carcass etc. influence this process. Knowledge about these factors help in reducing the assumptions made during the investigation by a forensic entomologist.
Experimental and Applied Acarology
The burial of a cadaver results in reduced arthropod activity and disruptions in colonisation patterns. Here, the distribution and diversity of mite taxa was studied across decomposition stages of shallowly buried pig carcasses (Sus scrofa domesticus). In total 300 mites (88 species) were collected from three pig shallow graves compared to 129 mites (46 species) from control (bare) soil samples at the same depth. A successional pattern of Acari higher taxa and families was observed, and species richness and biodiversity fluctuated throughout decomposition, whereas active decay showed the greatest biodiversity. Mesostigmata mites were the most abundant in ‘cadaver soils’ with a significant difference in the abundance of Parasitidae mites, whereas Oribatida mites (true soil mites) were the most abundant in control soils. Certain mite species were significantly associated with decay stages: Cornigamasus lunaris with ‘bloated’, Gamasodes spiniger with ‘active’, Eugamasus sp. and Lorryia...